fusion button tests

updated mon 27 aug 12

Taylor Hendrix on thu 3 jan 08

Pottery-filled new year to everybody at the Ram's Head!

I hope we are all getting down to business...the business of making
clay thingies.

I'm fixin', that's right "fixin'", to be neck deep in glaze testing
and I want to make up a tile with fusion tests of all my glaze
ingredients that might possibly melt on their own at cone 6. I did
this once back in Waco but I left out things and I have since lost
that tile. I have a question of course. I seem to remember that
packing the different ingredients into a small mold and those
ingredients retaining their shapes was not a real problem. What is the
best binding addition if I have a problem this time with the buttons
falling apart on the tile...other than trying a little water, that is?

Ivor, I'm going to be using one of your suggestions to another on the
list. Often simple things do not come to mind. Thanks for the
unintentional kick in the head.

Arnold, the new elements arrived yesterday. Paragon, Inc. has come
through again. You all didn't miss a beat during the holidays, thanks.

Now I have to mop up all the piles of clay dust in my garagio before
Lezlie gets here. Weather back in the 70s this weekend, whew.

Taylor Hendrix on fri 4 jan 08

Check that. Finally able to search archives from website and I found
some Martell et al postings with subject "fusion test" search. Thanks
Craig and June.

Can you believe that Corpus Christi Public Library doesn't have a copy
of _Ceramic Spectrum_ by Hopper for general circulation? I really am
at the ends of the earth (or North America at
least...almost...mostly...somewhat).

Taylor, in Rockport TX

On 1/3/08, Taylor Hendrix wrote:
...
What is the
> best binding addition if I have a problem this time with the buttons
> falling apart on the tile...other than trying a little water, that is?
...

Steve Slatin on fri 4 jan 08

Taylor --

Yes, I can. Can you believe that during the holiday
season I didn't *once* hear the Benjamin Britten
version of Corpus Christi Carol on the radio?

It's the one that goes --

He bear her off, he bear her down
He bear her into an orchard ground

Lullee lullay, lullee lullay
The falcon hath borne my love away

Nope, not once. OTOH, 'The Little Drummer
Boy' -- possibly the most annoying song
ever written, exceeding even 'Have you Been
To FunkeyTown?' was played several times
every hour for MONTHS.

-- Steve S

Taylor Hendrix wrote:
Can you believe that Corpus Christi Public Library doesn't have a copy
of _Ceramic Spectrum_ by Hopper for general circulation? I really am
at the ends of the earth (or North America at
least...almost...mostly...somewhat).

Taylor, in Rockport TX

Steve Slatin --

History teaches us that there have been but few infringements of personal liberty by the state which have not been justified ...
in the name of righteousness and the public good, and few which
have not been directed ... at politically helpless minorities.
-- Harlan Fiske Stone

---------------------------------
Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search.

Edouard Bastarache Inc. on fri 4 jan 08

"I really am at the ends of the earth (or North
America at
least...almost...mostly...somewhat).
Taylor, in Rockport TX"

Taylor, if there is a nuclear war,
come to Quebec, we are 20 years
behind the rest of North America.
You will not get hurt.

Frances Howard on sat 5 jan 08

Hi Steve,

About the orchard you mentioned, it is a medieval allegory of death,
especially apple orchards. I suppose it has something to do with Eve,
something to do with medieval monks planting apple orchards in their burial
grounds. I don't think I have ever seen a med. pot with fruit of any sort
inscribed on it, lots of owls, geometric patterns of course. I think an
apple would have been rather scary , like giving a friend one of those wax
dolls with pins in them which you read about in murder mysteries.

> Taylor --
>
> Yes, I can. Can you believe that during the holiday
> season I didn't *once* hear the Benjamin Britten
> version of Corpus Christi Carol on the radio?
>
> It's the one that goes --
>
> He bear her off, he bear her down
> He bear her into an orchard ground
>
> Lullee lullay, lullee lullay
> The falcon hath borne my love away
>
> Nope, not once. OTOH, 'The Little Drummer
> Boy' -- possibly the most annoying song
> ever written, exceeding even 'Have you Been
> To FunkeyTown?' was played several times
> every hour for MONTHS.
>
> -- Steve S
>
>
> Taylor Hendrix wrote:
> Can you believe that Corpus Christi Public Library doesn't have a copy
> of _Ceramic Spectrum_ by Hopper for general circulation? I really am
> at the ends of the earth (or North America at
> least...almost...mostly...somewhat).
>
> Taylor, in Rockport TX
>
> Steve Slatin --
>
> History teaches us that there have been but few infringements of personal
> liberty by the state which have not been justified ...
> in the name of righteousness and the public good, and few which
> have not been directed ... at politically helpless minorities.
> -- Harlan Fiske Stone
>
> ---------------------------------
> Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo!
> Search.
>
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>

Bill Merrill on wed 22 aug 12

It seems there is always issues with the Gertsley borate that potters =3D
are using now. I have a lifetime supply I purchased from Laguna over 15 =
=3D
years ago. I find it is always consistant. I would think the only way =3D
for a potter to find oud what the various Borates do is to use them in a =
=3D
specific glaze, use the same clay body to find out which one is =3D
consistant in your glaze.
=3D20
I also would do fusion button tests on each material so you can visually =
=3D
compare the results. I use a 10 gram coors porcelain fusion button. =3D
Sprinkle your material with a touch of water, so when compressed it =3D
stays in the thimble shape of the crucible. slightly dampen the tile, =3D
invert the fusion button on the tile and gently tap the crucible. The =3D
crucible will lift off the tile and leave a fusion button in the shape =3D
of the crucible. So that it doesn't crumble before getting it into the =3D
kiln, spray a little water on the fusion button. This test will show =3D
the actual melt and look of the material you are testing. Doing binary =3D
tests of materials is a simple way of testing materials in a 50/50 =3D
blend.
=3D20
Attached is a link to Hammill and Gillispie with regard to their =3D
product.
=3D20
http://www.hamgil.com/assets/documents/24_Gerstley_32DE.pdf
=3D20
There has also been talk of creativity. I have dropped that word from =3D
the things I say to my students and have replaced "creativity" with =3D
inventive and curious....students must be curious....being inventive =3D
will come to them as their curiosity widens...
=3D20
Bill

Steve Mills on thu 23 aug 12

I like that definition: it's a lot less nebulous.=3D20
Very positive and much more accurate.=3D20

Steve M

Steve Mills
Bath
UK
www.mudslinger.me.uk
Sent from my iPod

On 23 Aug 2012, at 03:17, Bill Merrill wrote:
There has also been talk of creativity. I have dropped that word from the =
t=3D
hings I say to my students and have replaced "creativity" with inventive an=
d=3D
curious....students must be curious....being inventive will come to them a=
s=3D
their curiosity widens...
>=3D20
> Bill

David Hendley on thu 23 aug 12

It's a great idea to make fusion buttons on every material you regularly
use.
It will give you insight into what each material is contributing to a glaze
and
I guarantee you will be surprised by some of the results. For example,
I was amazed when I compared fired tests of Custer feldspar and G-200.
Custer was a dirty grey-brown color, while G-200 was clean white. It
was also more melted.
Unlike Bill, I don't have a fusion button crucible, so I simply make a thic=
k
slab and put a bunch of good deep thumb prints in it. The indentations are
filled with the ceramic materials and labeled. I guess the domed material
formed
in the crucible might give a little more information, but this quick and
easy
method is will provide lots of information.

----- Original Message -----
It seems there is always issues with the Gertsley borate that potters are
using now. I have a lifetime supply I purchased from Laguna over 15 years
ago. I find it is always consistant. I would think the only way for a
potter to find oud what the various Borates do is to use them in a specific
glaze, use the same clay body to find out which one is consistant in your
glaze.

I also would do fusion button tests on each material so you can visually
compare the results. I use a 10 gram coors porcelain fusion button.
Sprinkle your material with a touch of water, so when compressed it stays i=
n
the thimble shape of the crucible. slightly dampen the tile, invert the
fusion button on the tile and gently tap the crucible. The crucible will
lift off the tile and leave a fusion button in the shape of the crucible.
So that it doesn't crumble before getting it into the kiln, spray a little
water on the fusion button. This test will show the actual melt and look o=
f
the material you are testing. Doing binary tests of materials is a simple
way of testing materials in a 50/50 blend.

Vince Pitelka on fri 24 aug 12

Every other spring semester I teach the technology of clay and glazes in my
advanced clay studio class. I made a simple two-piece mold out of clay
slabs bisque-fired and backed up with plywood. When you put a 5" by 14"
slab between the two parts of the mold and press them together, you get
something like a shallow egg carton with twelve round impressions. Each
student makes three of these and bisque-fires them. We have a supply of
little quarter-teaspoon measuring spoons in the glaze lab, and the students
dispense a different glaze material into each of the depressions in their
test trays. I assign a different group of raw materials and firing process
to each student, so we fire all of the glaze materials to bisque (^08),
low-fire oxidation (^04), midrange oxidation (^6), high-fire reduction
(^10), and high-fire salt or soda (^10). We do this assignment fairly earl=
y
in the semester when we are talking about clay/glaze materials, and it is
very instructive for the students to see these fusion buttons and get a
sense of what each material does when fired to different temperatures in
different atmospheres.
- Vince

ivor and olive lewis on sat 25 aug 12

Dear Vince Pitelka,

An impressive test series that your students must enjoy doing and benefit
from.

May I suggest a minor alteration that might yield additional information.

Your experiment needs a "Control", a way of getting baseline information
that things are measured by, even if that information is subjective
observation. A Control injects a little objectivity into the mix.

For you tests at cone 10 using Reduction, Soda Injection and Salt Injection
have a neutral or non reducing firing to cone 10.

Should you do this I would be most interested in knowing the results for th=
e
full range of Felspars, Nepheline Syenite and Micaceous materials
(Muscovite)

Sincerely,

Ivor Lewis,
REDHILL,
South Australia

PS. You read Ralph Grim yet ?

Vince Pitelka on sat 25 aug 12

Ivor Lewis wrote:
"Your experiment needs a "Control", a way of getting baseline information
that things are measured by, even if that information is subjective
observation. A Control injects a little objectivity into the mix. For you
tests at cone 10 using Reduction, Soda Injection and Salt Injection have a
neutral or non reducing firing to cone 10."

Hi Ivor -
That's a great suggestion and I appreciate it. But there is a problem that
makes this difficult. These tests are included in full kiln-loads of ware
that are always reduction-fired. No one here wants to fire their work in a
neutral atmosphere just to see what the raw materials tests will do in that
atmosphere, and it would be expensive to fire the raw materials tests with
the kiln otherwise empty. We try to make the most of every cent in our
budget.
- Vince

ivor and olive lewis on sun 26 aug 12

Vince,
Perhaps you could solve that problem without cost by firing a set of sample=
s
in your Cone 10 reduction kiln, having placed the test samples in almost
hermetically sealed Saggars.
Regards,
Ivor Lewis,
REDHILL,
South Australia